The Challenger Disaster.

The Challenger Disaster.

Challenger
Challenger was known as the most reliable space shuttle having flown the most missions without any major accidents. Though January the 28th, 1986 would change that. The crew of the mission were Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, Francis Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka and Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher hoping to become the first civilian in space.
Disaster at 46,000 feet
O-rings are rings of compressed rubber at the areas where sections of the booster meet. These must expand in the blink of an eye to seal the gap created by the sudden pressure. Challenger, though, was launched at 2.22222 degrees, so the O-rings could not expand. The rubber started to burn and created black smoke which was later found after analysing camera footage. Solid rocket boosters had later been revolutionised when aluminium was added. Adding aluminium created a substance called slag, which may have blocked the, explaining why the space shuttle did not blow up on launch. 37 seconds into flight, heavy side winds buffeted into Challenger, dislodging the aluminium slag seal and letting rocket fuel escape. The flame started burning through the support joining the booster to the fuel tank. Then, at roughly 68 seconds after launch ground control gave the order to "go for throttle up". 5 seconds later Challenger exploded. Flame from the booster had burnt through its support and the thrust knocked the nose of the booster into the top of the fuel tank. At the same time the bottom of the fuel tank fell off, leaking fuel. This easily caught fire.

Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe was a teacher at Concord High School and won a competition to be the first civilian in space. By the time of launch Christa had become a national celebrity.
Challenger's launch was one of the most watched events on television of its time. Even Christa's students were watching.

Aftermath
Shuttle launches were cancelled for three years after the catastrophe and the shuttle and boosters were greatly redesigned.

Crowd reactions

Re: The Challenger Disaster.

hello

Re: The Challenger Disaster.

Hi isaac get on at school